NLP Glossary – D – Definitions and Terms

The sensory maps underneath – often unconscious, that we use to navigate our worlds. The word “dog” has an underlying collection of my experiences with dogs and individual dogs I have known or seen. Seeing a lemon on my plate accesses the knowledge of how it will make my mouth pucker and some memories involving Tequila. The deep structure of a sentence is it’s meaning – what it brings to mind.

Meta Model: We can only pay attention to a limited amount of things. We ignore many parts of our experience to avoid overwhelm.

Digital

The term digital relates to separate units. Computers only understand 0 or 1 which means on or off. Within NLP, submodalities are considered either digital or analogue. Submodalities which don’t vary (but are like a switch or toggle) include association or dissociation, color or black and white and framed or panoramic. There are only two choices. There are no degrees of association, you either see things from your own perspective or you don’t. Most submodalities vary continuously and are called analogue. For example, sound can change from loud to soft. Color varies in saturation.

Focusing inwards on memories, thoughts or feelings, rather than paying attention to sensory experiences on the outside. This is what trance achieves – an inner focus where the external world disappears. It is unuseful when you need to pay attention to sensory experience – listening to someone or playing sport for instance.